


Shakedown

by NYWCgirl



Category: White Collar
Genre: Blood Loss, Car Accidents, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Recuperating, Trapped, alternative universe, rally
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-29 12:38:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15073316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYWCgirl/pseuds/NYWCgirl
Summary: Peter and Neal are rally drivers. They are on their way to victory…





	Shakedown

**Author's Note:**

> This fic fills the ‘Wild card – blood loss’ square on my hurt/bingo card.  
> A Shakedown is a period of testing or a trail journey undergone by a craft and its crew before being declared operational.

 

‘Flat Peter!’

Peter planks the gas pedal and they cross the finish in a cloud of dust and pebbles. Neal takes a breath and folds his notes away while Peter brings the car to a standstill. Jones and Diana are already waiting for them.

‘Good race, Neal.’ Peter smiles.

‘Yeah, it was fun.’

They get out of the car and Mozzie walks up to them.

‘Second place and no damage to the car. That´s almost as good as winning. Good job, gentlemen.’

 

*  *  *

 

Peter and Neal have an early wake-up call to do their recce so they can prepare their pacenotes for the next stage. Peter trusts Neal to do most of the work, since he is always meticulous in his notes.

Once the they finish their runs, Peter goes over suspension settings for the mixture of gravel and tarmac conditions they will encounter with Mozzie. When they are done Mozzie calls for a quick meeting prior to tech inspection to go over the schedule of events.

Engine specialist Diana and engineer Jones wait in the team´s service area while the car is at the technical inspection and there is some time to goof off until the car returns. When it does, Peter looks stressed and they can tell there is a problem with the car.

‘Talk to me Peter, what is wrong?’

‘When I drove back from tech she pops randomly out of second gear.’

Diana and Jones immediately start to check out the car and make adjustments but as with most issues in rally, the problem appears randomly and they are not sure if they fixed it. Neal is already pacing nervously, checking his watch and calling out that they must go.

The arrive in time at the start and the race begins. The car yields no further problems and they can finish without technical problems. The team is in high spirits and is looking forward to the next race which will be in three days.

 

*  *  *

 

On almost all of the rallies, the Ellington Rally Team or short ERT chooses to rent a house for the entire team. In addition to comradery generated by being under one roof, having access to a garage makes prepping and working on the car much easier, especially during the all-nighters.

When they arrive at the house they are renting, Jones and Diana immediately check out the garage, while Peter and Neal check out the road book they received from the rally organization. When they are confident they know the stage, they take the jeep for their recce run since Diana insists on checking the gear box.

On their initial pass, Peter dictates what he sees and wants written down, and Neal adds his own remarks. On the second pass, Neal reads his notes back to Peter, checking them for accuracy and making adjustments. When they are both confident the notes are ready for the rally, they head back home. Mozzie already prepared dinner and Peter looks skeptical at his plate.

‘It is shrimps with white quinoa.’

‘Yeah, that was what I am afraid of.’

But once he takes the first bite, he needs to admit that it is delicious and not half as bad as he suspected.

They watch some television while enjoying a cup of coffee and a piece of the cake Jones’s mum made them and then it is time for the last check of the car before they hit the sack to be well rested for tomorrow´s rally.

 

*  *  *

 

‘Forty, left five minus over crest opens over forty, tightens four plus, into tripe caution, right four over big jump off camber.’ Neal spouts in his mic to get over the noise of the car going flat out.

Peter gives a quick understanding nod before another slew of directions are gushed in his ear and he does his best to keep the car on the stage.

‘Two hundred left three into crest then one hundred right four.’

Peter steers the car that threatens to break out over the narrow road.

‘Caution, rough into left two don´t cut, mud on outside, stump on inside.’

Finally, they arrive at the service and Peter cuts the engine. Diana and Jones immediately start on the car while Peter tells them what de experienced and noticed.

While the car is being worked on, Neal and Peter have a bite to eat and drink some sports drink. Neal constantly checks how much time is left to determine whether or not they can finish the adjustments in time. When time is up, Neal calls out and they get back in the car. Carefully watching the time, Neal makes sure that the car is on time at the start and readies his pace notes.

‘Five, four, three, two, one, Go!’

At the exact second Peter hits the gas and the car roars off, Neal once again spewing a stream of information towards Peter.

 

*  *  *

 

‘Neal! To your office!’ Mozzie yells.

Neal quickly gets up and takes his maps, road book, pace notes, time car and pencils and is off towards the car. Peter is already in the car and gives Neal a smile.

‘Ready?’

‘Yep! Let´s do this.’

‘Care to go see a movie tonight, Diana asked to see that new Avenger movie. Maybe we can get a bite to eat as well.’

‘Sure. Sounds good.’

Neal makes sure they are on time into the start control. They check whether the intercoms work and they are off again. All continues well, until they come almost to the end of the final stage. The combination of a sharp turn and a hard rocky ledge in the quarry proves too much for the car´s drive shaft. The other CV joint breaks and suddenly they are crippled.

‘It is less than a mile to finish. Continue. We can still make it.’

Peter keeps the car on stage and they nurse their car home bang-on their due minute. When Jones comes with a tow, he looks not amused. It is going to be a long night to get the car ready for tomorrow´s session. No cinema for them tonight. Jones takes the jeep of the tow and hands Neal the keys.

Peter doesn´t say anything and is probably rehashing what went wrong. He always does, so Neal takes care of the car towing and once Jones left for home, Neal walks up to Peter.

‘Peter, let´s go, we’re going home and have something to eat.’

Peter looks up and when he sees Neal, he nods.

‘Maybe…’

‘No Peter, let´s not do this every time. It was bad luck, let´s see what happens tomorrow.’

‘Yeah, you are right.’

 

*  *  *

 

The stage they are driving today is a snowy one and since it has been snowing all night, conditions are suburb, an icy surface and big snow banks are perfect for their only pure winter fixture.

After breakfast both Peter and Neal hit the gym. When they finish their exercises, Peter goes back to check on the car. Neal checks the time card and once again goes through the road book.

Neal informs the team that they need to get going so the car is brought to the technical inspection and both Peter and Neal wait by the car until it is their turn. They are silent because Neal knows that Peter wants to concentrate. Some fans want pictures and autographs and Neal gives Neal a signal he will take care of it. After checking his watch, Neal gives the helmets up signal and they leave for the start position.

Neal did an extra check this morning and warned Peter that conditions are slippery and they will have to be careful.

Once they are off, Neal keeps up his almost constant commentary. Conditions on the icy stage are even worse than he expected but Peter has the car under control, even though the wheel is rotating wildly in Peter´s hands.

They are making good progress and after the second checkpoint they are in first position. However ten minutes into the ride, Peter shouts towards Neal and hits his helmet at his ear. Neal immediately catches on and realizes Peter can´t hear him. They have never had intercom problems before and now in these extreme conditions they have a mechanical failure. Neal starts shouting his pace notes and Peter makes a signal to go faster.

But bad luck never comes alone.

Neal doesn´t know what goes wrong, but suddenly they are air born. The car crashes into a tree, flips over and is finally stopped by another tree.

Peter is dazed but almost out of instinct checks the car. The engine cut out and the windshield is gone and filled the car with snow.

‘Neal? You alright?’

When there isn´t an immediate answer, Peter turns his head to his co-driver.

‘Neal?’

Neal is still upright, which is to be expected with their five point seatbelt, but he isn´t moving.

‘Come on, Neal, now would be a great time to wake up.’

He gently jostles Neal´s arm and a groan can be heard.

‘Neal? Wake up!’

‘What happened?’

‘We crashed. Are you alright?’

‘Yeah, probably got the wind knocked out of me? Why is it so cold?’

‘Open your eyes and you can see why. The windshield is gone, there is snow in the car.’

‘Does she still drive?’

‘Haven´t tried yet, but it doesn´t matter, I can´t drive anyway.’

Something in Peter’s tone of voice has Neal worried.

‘Why not?’

‘I think I busted my arm.’

‘Is that all?’

‘Yeah. I’ve got a headache, but that is to be expected. That was one heck of a crash. We were airborne!’

Neal knows it is the adrenaline talking.

‘You are a real superman, Peter. Can you get out?’

‘No, seatbelt is stuck. And you?’

‘There is a tree where the door should be Peter, what do you think?’

‘Sorry, I.., are you hurt?’

‘I´m not sure.’

Peter doesn´t like the uncertainty in Neal´s voice.

‘Can you move all your extremities?’

‘Yeah, they are numb though, probably the cold. Help will come once we fail to pass the next checkpoint or when a car passes. Are we off the road?’

Peter laughs.

‘Neal we’re between the freaking trees, we won´t get hit by another car.’

‘Good. Because that would suck big time.’

Peter chuckles again.

‘How long do you think we have been here?’

Leave it to Neal to worry about time but in a way it makes sense. He is so used to timing everything, from getting in time to start positions, services, timing the stage, he lives by the clock.

‘I guess about ten minutes.’

‘Good, that means we will be missed soon.’

Peter doesn´t like the way Neal starts slurring his words.

‘Neal?’

When he doesn´t get an immediate response, Peter shakes his arm again.

‘Neal!’

Wht?’

‘Stay awake, are you sure you are not hurt?’

‘No.’

Peter needs to get out of the damn seatbelt so he can take a proper look at Neal. The race seat prevents him from turning his head far enough to see Neal properly.

‘Neal;’

‘Hmm.’

‘Maybe you can tell what the stage would look like next.’

He groans when he jostles his arm. It is definitely broken. He can feel the bones grind together. But somehow he manages to get his hand on the emergency hammer attached to his door and he cuts the seat belt. With his good hand he digs in the snow so he can move his body and legs better.

When he finally gets a good look at Neal, his breath stocks. Neal is almost as pale as the snow surrounding him. He is sweating and breathing way too fast. But what is more worrying is the blood soaked snow to his right.

‘Neal, are you in pain?’

Neal shakes his head.

The cold probably prevents Neal from feeling his injuries. Peter looks around, scanning the area. Can they be seen from the road? All he can see is snow. Maybe it is best to get out of the car to attract attention.

‘Neal, I´m gonna try to get out of the car to get help, OK?’

He can see Neal looks confused and it takes some time before he focuses on Peter. Once Peter sees Neal is looking at him, he repeats himself. Neal finally nods although Peter is not sure how much Neal really understood.

He slowly extracts himself from the car, but once outside, it turns out the snow is deeper than he expected and he has to plow through the snow. Before he can reach the road, two jeeps stop and he can hear sirens approach.

‘Peter!’

It is Diana and Peter takes a deep breath, rescue is here.

‘Neal is hurt.’

‘Ambulance is on its way. How are you holding up?’

‘I broke my arm.’

He can see Jones and Mozzie trying to plow a way to Neal´s side of the car. An ambulance stops and the two EMT´s get out. One immediately  runs towards Jones who is waving, the other one heads his way.

‘It is just broken, take care of my co-driver.’

The woman nods and heads over to the car. Peter can see that they are taking care of Neal, but it is also clear that they need assistance. Peter walks back to the car, he can see that they put an IV up and they must have pushed pain killers, because Neal looks more relaxed.

‘Neal?’

‘He is doing alright, but he is pinned, so we are going to wat for the fire department, aren´t we Neal?’

‘Wht?’

‘How are you feeling? Your driver here is worried about you.’

‘Peter is here?’

‘’Yes Neal, I’m here, we all are.’

‘I´m stuck.’

‘’Yeah, I know, but they are getting you out.’

‘Yeah, that w…’

‘Neal!’

Neal´s head suddenly lolls forward. The EMT who is sitting next to Neal in the car, shakes Neal and re-evaluates his vitals.

‘Give me the pulse-ox please.’

Something small and black is handed to him and he clips it to Neal´s finger.

‘You are doing good, Neal, we will get you out soon, OK?’

Peter looks at Neal and is relieved to see that Neal is now blinking blearily at the man.

‘What´s your driver´s name?’

‘What?’

‘Your drive? What is his name?’

‘Peter.’ Neal slurs.

‘Peter, let me stabilize your arm.’

Peter nods. The EMT quickly splints the arm.

‘How is the pain?’

‘Manageable. Where is the fire department?’ he can hear the sirens asking the question.

While the fire fighters prepare their gear and walk up to the car, the chiefs talks to the EMT´s. After a brief instruction, they start to work. The EMT explains to Neal what is going to happen before a thick blanket is placed over Neal. The roof of the car is cut of quickly and efficiently. Once the roof is off, Neal is assessed again. He is now even paler and the contrast with the blood soaked snow that became visible now that the roof is off, is making Peter anxious.

‘Is he alright?’

‘He is doing great.’

Two fire fighters are working on the door of the car. Peter can see Neal nodding, indicating that the men are talking to him. The EMT runs to their rig and Peter and the rest of the crew can only watch from the side line. More bandages are applied and something is injected in Neal´s IV.

‘What is happening?’

‘They are ready to extract Neal and we just gave him a little extra kick so he will be OK, while they do just that.’

Peter nods.

Suddenly there is a flurry of activity and Neal is free and on a backboard. He is quickly carried to the ambulance.

‘Let´s go Peter, you are coming with us.’

Peter follows the EMT´s to the rig and sits down next to Neal. Now that the stress of waiting is over, it is sort of funny to see Neal doped up. Well, it would be funnier if Neal wasn´t injured.

‘Hey, how are you holding up?’

Peter looks at Neal.

‘Peter? What are you doing here?’

‘I´m going with you, someone has to take care of you, right?’

‘Don´t feel so good.’

‘That is OK. Just tell me when you need to vomit. The drive will be bumpy until we clear the stage,’ the EMT reassures.

All of a sudden, Peter feels tired, the pain is clawing at him and he groans.

‘How are you holding up?’

‘I´ll live.’

‘Good, close your eyes, try to rest. We will be there soon.’

Peter glances over at Neal and can see that his eyes are closed. His face is relaxed and Peter trusts Neal is taken care of so he lets the rocking of the ambulance lull him to sleep.

 

*  *  *

 

Peter walks out of the ER. His arm is broken, but that wasn´t a surprise. He is lucky that it was a clean break. The swelling is too bad to put on a definite cast, so his arm is bandaged in a half cast and he has an appointment to come back in one week. They gave him painkillers so everything is well in Peter Burke’s world.

Mozzie is waiting for him and takes him to the hospital´s restaurant where he puts him in a seat to get some coffee and a Danish. Peter will need the sugar because Mozzie knows Peter will want to wait until they know Neal is alright. He puts the tray before Peter and sits down across from him.

‘Have you heard from Diana?’

‘Yeah, she called, the car is a total loss, which was to be expected.’

Peter nods.

‘Why haven´t we heard from Neal?’

‘They said it could take some time, they have my cell number.

‘OK.’

‘Peter, I want you to eat the Danish, you need the sugar. Neal is being taken care off. Now take care of yourself.’

‘I really don´t know what happened. One moment we’re on the stage, the next we are hitting the tree. I…’

‘Don´t worry about it Peter. June told me that whenever you two are ready, there will be a car ready.’

Peter looks impressed, ‘that is pretty generous.’

Now it is Mozzie who nods. Peter finishes his coffee and asks if they can go see Neal, so Mozzie walks them to the surgical waiting room.

‘Any news on Neal Caffrey?’

‘Let me check, sir.’

The nurse types on the computer but shakes his head.

‘No sorry, but we already have a room for him, it is 2534, you may wait there, once the surgery is over, the surgeon will come to talk to you in the room.’

‘OK, thanks.’

Mozzie walks back to Peter and shakes his head but tells Peter they can go wait in Neal´s room. Once they are settled, Mozzie picks up a magazine and starts reading, Peter somewhere during the wait falls asleep.

There is noise in the hall and Mozzie gets up. Neal is being wheeled in, he has his eyes closed, but looks comfortable enough. The nurse settle Neal in the room and a nurse who introduces herself as Ann fills in Neal´s medical record. She also explains that the doctor will be over soon but that Neal is doing well.

It doesn´t take long before a doctor enters the room.

‘My name is doctor Evans, I performed the surgery on Mister Caffrey.’

Mozzie gets up and wants to wake up Peter, but decides against it. The doctor smiles, probably recognizing the race suit Peter is still wearing.

‘I understood that Mister Caffrey is a co-driver and that they were involved in a crash.’

‘Yeah, that sums it up. How is Neal?’

Neal decides at that moment to open his eyes. The doctor and Mozzie look at him, but Neal just blinks at them.

‘Welcome back, Neal.’

‘Moz?’

‘Yeah, the doctor was just about to explain your injuries.’

Neal nods.

‘Mister Caffrey is doing…’

‘Neal.’

‘Very well. Neal. A piece of metal had lodged itself in your thigh, so you lost quite some blood. But we closed the wound and I expect a full recovery. You were lucky that no bones were broken.’

‘Thank you doctor.’

The doctor leaves and Mozzie wakes Peter. Peter rouses and it takes a moment for him to remember where he is.

‘How is Neal?’

‘Ask himself.’

Mozzie steps aside and Neal gives Peter a goofy grin and waves with one hand.

‘Neal! How are you feeling?’

‘Tired.’

They can see Neal´s eyes rolling in his head. The anesthesia is probably still flowing through his system.

‘Rest, we can talk later.’

‘That sounds good.’

Neal closes his eyes.

 

*  *  *

 

Neal hobbles towards the garage and when he steps in, Diana and Jones don´t notice him at first. When they do, they stop what they are doing and welcome him back. Peter, attracted by the noise, stick his head around the corner and smiles when he sees Neal.

‘They let you go?’

‘Yeah, I am allowed outside as long as I stay of the leg, so, here I am. How are you doing?’

‘Arm is healing well, a couple of more weeks and it will be as good as new. And you?’

‘The wound is healing well. I am starting physical therapy to make sure I don´t lose too much muscle tissue while the wound heals.’

‘Sit down, sit down.’ Diana pushes a chair under him and Neal lowers himself onto it.’

‘So this is the new car? She is a beauty.’

‘Yeah, June didn´t want to wait, so now we have all the time to adjust it to Peter´s wishes.’

‘Sounds great.’

Neal feels great, it is good to be back and to feel as a part of a team again. They joke around and Mozzie comes out with snacks and drinks.

 

*  *  *

 

Both men had their physical checkup and are cleared to start driving again. The team is ready and the car is shining in the garage. They had several meetings already and Peter already took her out for a spin. It is cold and it is clear winter is here.

They drive on their recce and the men discuss the track, making notes and it feels good to be back in the car together. When they are done, they stop for a coffee, before they will drive the stage once more to see if Neal´s pace notes need adjusting. While they are inside it starts snowing and Peter suggests that they should eat something while they are here.

After lunch they get back in the car and this time when they arrive at the stage, Peter goes for it. Neal starts rehashing his notes until he suddenly goes completely silent.

‘Neal, talk to me, TALK!’

Peter is just about to stop the car, when Neal snaps out of it. He takes a moment to orient himself and starts calling out orders again. Peter is too busy keeping the car on the road that he doesn´t have time to think about what just happened, but Neal is back.

When they come back at the garage, Neal let´s his head hang.

‘I´m sorry.’

‘No need, it happens, you snapped out of it. We are cool.’

‘Yeah, but if this would happen during the rally.’

‘Neal, don´t worry about it, we had a serious accident and this is our first time back in the car together. It’s OK.’

‘Do you sometimes…’

‘Of course, I have replayed the accident hundreds of time in my head, was there something I could have done different, what if scenarios. Things like that happen in rallies, Neal. I have spent enough energy on it and now I am ready to move on and so should you.’

Neal nods a bit unsure, but accepts Peter reassurance.

‘Let’s go, the car is ready, we are ready. Let´s get some food and relax. Tomorrow is a big day.’

 


End file.
